Trusting with Skills
by arrowheadhunter
Summary: Kagome is a trained assasin sent to kill Sesshomaru by Naraku. When she is taken prisoner she must decide whom to betray. But then there is the question of who she ultimately belongs to. Sesshomaru or Naraku? please R&R!
1. The Beginning of Time

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.

Enjoy!! :)

Chapter 1:

A flash of blinding light filled her vision as she awoke from her induced sleep. Groggily she sat up, trying to take in her surroundings. She could not concentrate on anything but the throbbing pain in her head. Raising her hand to her head and gently placing it at her temple, she felt something sticky there and brought her hand away to gaze at the tacky, red blood on her hand, willing herself to remember something.

With a sudden bang, the dungeon door slammed open on its hinges. She jumped slightly at the shock of the spontaneous noise. A tall imposing shape emerged to stand in front of her blocking out the bright light coming from beyond the doorway. She squinted against the intruding light, trying to see more clearly.

She gazed up at Sesshomaru, as all her memories flooded back in a roaring tidal wave of a headache. She gasped falling over as the pain in her head intensified and she became lost in her recollections.

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The night was calm, perfect for killing. The air was still, the wind nonexistent, nothing to give away her scent. She sat high in the tree meditating on what was going to occur tonight.

Her master had given her specific instructions to kill the Lord of the Western lands. The dangerous and powerful Naraku was her Lord and the only one who she followed.

He had raised her as his own, honing her skills to become the perfect assassin. Her family had died when she was young and he had taken her in, erasing the troubled memories of her previous life and replacing them with a vision of the future and a will to get stronger. He gave her an education that was forbidden to women of these times and superior to that of most. Even more, he included her in his plans to take over the entire kingdom. The first to die: the Western Lord.

She was a master in all arts of killing; since she had been training as far back as she could remember, becoming an even match against the stoic Lord of the West, even for a human. He was a demon, an extremely powerful Inu-yokai, and possessed demon qualities that she knew he would use in battle. He had to be eliminated.

She gathered her bearings and opened her eyes to stare at the wall in front of her. She had to cross this wall to get into the palace grounds. Standing on the limb, she nimbly walked onto the very edge and jumped high into the air so as to miss any magic surrounding the wall. Gathering momentum as she landed on her feet inside the palace grounds, she took off running towards the castle. She never made a sound, her feet sure of the path.

She had studied for days, the plans of this castle and she now knew it as well as her own Lord's. Grabbing a vine that crawled up along the outside of the castle, she hoisted herself up and started climbing. Reaching the certain window she was going towards, she hastily glanced in and then away. Then sure that no one was inside, she used her knife to pry the window open and jumped in. Her eyes scanned the room with a cautious sweep, standing stark still as her ears strained for any sound or movement that meant she had been detected.

Shutting the window again, she gazed around the wonders of the room, memorizing every detail. She was in Lord Sesshomaru's private chamber, and it was finer then any room she had ever been in.

She knew that at this moment Sesshomaru was having dinner. She had approximately five minutes before he was to finish, according to the spy they had placed inside the palace. Searching for a hiding place, she spotted a dark corner and blending perfectly into it, set her instincts on edge. Waiting… this was the hardest part.

She was dressed in black men's clothing. Carrying a nagi-nata around her waist and a kai-ken in her bosom of her shirt, she was able to defeat an entire army with her skills.

Footsteps approached the door and she immediately dropped into a battle stance and slowed her heart to being barely audible. She had touched nothing in the room so her scent was nowhere to be found, and she froze her mind so he would not be able to notice any of her thoughts or feelings.

The door opened and she wasted no time in attacking as soon as he had shut it again, but to her surprise, she found he had already detected her presence and begun to attack.

Lord Sesshomaru had unsheathed his sword and had turned to deflect her attack after he had shut the door. Sparks flew off as metal met metal, for she was fighting with her long handled nagi-nata.

He was powerful and strong, so she would be only able to win if she used her weaknesses against him, her lightness of feet and quickness of foot. She weaved in and out of his attacks, still calmly breathing. Searching for a weak spot, she got in close only to back away as he swung for her head.

Going for her feet, she jumped lithely into the air to avoid the swipe and flipped quickly over his head to land behind him before he could get his sword up again. They stood still, staring intently at each other. Sesshomaru moved his eyes over her as she did the same to him, sizing him up with her eyes.

Dropping into a battle stance, she attacked again. They parried and battled, back and forth. Sometimes it would go in his favor sometimes in hers, though she was loosing speed as she tired and she knew she needed to hurry and finish this fight.

The swords were caught in a cross strike and she strained her muscles to over come him but to no prevail. He flipped her weapon out of her hands and sent it flinging in a circle across the room. Loosing no time she yanked her kai-ken out from the inside of her shirt and started stalking him, both sidestepping each other and creating a circle with their movements, each waiting with little patience for the other to advance. She was at a disadvantage with the short knife and would only be able to hurt him if she got in close.

She calmly backed him into a corner and in the back of her mind she sensed that it was really she that was being cornered. And indeed she was. Tight in the corner he used it to kick off when he leaped in the air. He sailed over her, landing gracefully behind her and placed his sword to cover her neck.

She did not move, as he held her at knifepoint. The door slammed open and she watched the shadows on the wall as guards poured into the room. She was completely silent as they came in. She did not feel anything as they pried her knife away. She let herself go cold as Sesshomaru quickly let go of her and she collapsed as the hilt of his sword connected with her head.

__________________________________________________________________________

She slowly raised her eyes to meet those of the Western Lord's. After remembering what had happened she knew how much danger she was in and briefly wondered if her Lord, Naraku, would save her.

He yanked her up and she realized that mask that had hidden her face and helped her look more like a boy had disappeared. She forced herself to remain cold and emotionless as he dragged her from the room.

She quickly found herself in a smaller room that had chains hanging from the ceiling. Her arms were locked in the chains and she dangled in the middle of the room before Sesshomaru like a lifeless marionette.

He needed no whip, his claws were sufficient. They started to drip poison and she eyed them warily wondering if the pain would be lasting or if her death would be instantaneous.

"Who are you?" He asked in an emotionless tone of voice as he moved behind her.

She didn't answer, and she felt his nail on the back of her neck and poison slowly trailing down her back in lazy streams. She didn't move; she would not give him that satisfaction.

"Answer me. Who sent you?" He was getting angry for she could feel his Youkai powers flare dangerously; however, his tone never betrayed any emotion. She knew she was in trouble, but she could never betray her lord.

A growl resonated from deep within the back of his throat when she didn't answer and she arched her back away from his razor-like claws to no avail her when she felt the poison being injected into her system. Throughout the whole time, she did not even utter a single whimper of groan of pain. However, she was screaming on the inside. Wails of agony echoed against the confines of her mind as she felt the fire of the injection burning through her body. She would not give him the satisfaction that he was looking for though. Her face did not betray her, staying stoic and impassive. She went silent on the inside again, staying still as stone.

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Please review and tell me what you think. I so welcome flames! Give me advice if you think something didnt happen right. Thanks. I will TRY to update every Sunday.


	2. Terrible Trust

Hey thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed. you all made my day! ENJOY this chapter and review please!!!!!!:)

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Chapter 2

Day after day, he continued to punish her, trying to get her to give up the information she held within. Every single one of these sessions ended with her on the brink of death, only to be brought back from the edge each time by one of the Lord's finest physicians, just so they could continue once more the next day. He knew she would have to break sometime, after all, there was only so much that the mind and body could handle.

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Sesshomaru stood at the window of his private study and watched his ward, Rin, run around in his private gardens. The girl in his dungeons was on his mind. She had not said a word since he had put her there. She took his poison and the pain without an utterance. He needed to find out who had sent her to kill him. She was powerful; he had not fought against someone who had almost matched his skills in years. Moreover, her will was strong, taking each dose day after day. She had lasted this long, who could tell how much longer it would be before Sesshomaru would get the desired results.

The door of the study slowly opened and his cursed, half-breed brother walked in.

"What do you want?"

InuYasha knew he was not allowed on the palace grounds, so it must be something important to go against his elder bothers rules.

"Brother, I wish for your blessing. Kikyo and I have decided to be mated." InuYasha stood there tentatively waiting for his brother's answer.

What a request! His brother wished for something. No wonder he was being respectful and not his usual rude self. Hnnn… maybe he could use this to his convenience.

Turning around to stare his brother in the eye, making InuYasha extremely uncomfortable, he smirked inwardly.

"I will give you my blessing to be mated and I will even let you have the ceremony here if take care of a problem for me."

InuYasha's mouth fell open as he gaped at his brother's request. 'What could he possible want of me?' he thought tentatively.

"I have a female prisoner in the dungeons. A few days ago, she tried to kill me and every night I go there and try to break her. She has yet to snap. I want you to try. If you can get all the information out of her that I require, then we will have a deal."

InuYasha grumbled to himself. Of course the bastard needed something done to that extent. It's a wonder he couldn't break the wench himself, and she had tried to kill him!?

"Fine, I'll do it. But you will have to leave." Sesshomaru growled. "I'm going to try a different technique then you; apparently force will not break her so I'm going to treat her differently. If she sees you then it won't work."

Sesshomaru thought about it. It did make sense. He had to give his bastard brother some credit sometimes. "Fine, I will give you one month."

_______________________________________________________________________

She awoke lying in the usual damp cell. Sesshomaru was late. This was new. Maybe he had some new cruel technique to try on her, or maybe he wasn't coming. The hope grew in her chest only to be pushed away as she heard footsteps coming down the passageway towards her.

The door gently opened, and she heard someone sigh. She raised her head with difficulty to see a hanyou. He had silver hair and puppy dog-ears on his head that indicated his heritage. He was frowning at her and she became apprehensive.

He walked over to her and unlocked the chains that bound her wrists, picking her up and walked out the door with her. She was puzzled. What was he doing? She couldn't fight him, for her strength was gone, so she wished her death would be quick and painless.

He took her up from the dungeon, through the palace, and to a room. It was a nice room. It had a large bed, which she was placed on, and a window with a balcony. He promptly went to the window and locked it, placing the key inside his haori. A girl came in and the hanyou left.

The girl was gorgeous. She could tell by her garb that she was a miko, and a powerful one at that. Coming closer, she rolled her onto her back and started to dress the wounds, which Sesshomaru had made with his poison, properly.

"What's your name?" She asked while bandaging her back up. She didn't know if she should tell her name, but she had been kind and she was done fighting. These nice people apparently didn't work for Sesshomaru. Maybe they had taken over his palace.

"Kagome," she answered, her voice hoarse from lack of use. She had lost weight for Sesshomaru had seen to it that she barely got anything to eat. The nice girl got water for her to drink. She drank it gratefully.

"I'm Kikyo, and the hanyou who brought you here is InuYasha." She smiled at her, and Kagome was taken aback with the kindness. "Rest now and I'll bring you food in a while." She left and Kagome fell asleep.

Kikyo walked down to the kitchens with InuYasha. "Do you think it will work?"

"Yeah, that bastard treated her badly enough that she will trust anyone who is nice to her." Sesshomaru had departed early that morning with his ward and entourage to go on patrol. He left a relieved staff. Their Lord's mood had been horrible since the girl had tried to kill him.

"She's a miko."

"Really? Then she will be even more useful to Sesshomaru then."

"Yes, though she is untrained, she might have more power than me," she said with a slight edge of resentment going undetected in her tone.

"I hate to think what sick uses Sesshomaru will have for her if he gets her on his side, if she is broken by him," InuYasha said with a slight shudder.

Kikyo agreed with him and they went to eat.

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Thanks! Dont forget to review and give me some advice!!!


	3. Running Away

Thanks to all my reviewers, Im becoming anxious because i dont have the next chapter written yet! so i need to book it. ENJOY!!! :)

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Kagome walked through the garden in a new kimono that Kikyo had given to her. She breathed in the fresh air and enjoyed being outside. It had been a week since InuYasha had rescued her from the dungeons and she was healing fast. She was almost back to her usual self.

Wandering around the grounds she ended up at the dojo. Glancing inside she saw InuYasha fighting with a guard. The guard was a full demon and it seemed that InuYasha was winning, for his strength was magnified by the thought of a full-blooded demon beating him and the humiliation.

She snuck inside and sat against the wall and watched as InuYasha beat the other demon into a bloody pulp. After they had finished he walked over to her and asked if he could escort her back to the castle. She agreed for she had become as fond of InuYasha, as a brother, in the short time she had known him.

He was rowdy and rude at times, but he always listened and helped her with anything she needed. She was happy for him and Kikyo. They were to be mated at the end of the month.

Since the time they had gotten her from the dungeons they had not said anything about Sesshomaru, and she had not asked. She was puzzled as to where he had gone and who exactly these people were, yet she was also scared to find out his location. Was he coming back? Would he kill her when he did? She was scared, and she wasn't usually scared easily, but that demon terrified her. She knew that when she saw him again, he would kill her.

InuYasha decided he would train with her. She needed something to do and she didn't like sitting idle. So the next day she met InuYasha in the same dojo as before. They started out easy since it had been almost three weeks since they had taken her out of the dungeon, and she was kind of stiff in her movements. The more they worked the more fluid she became. She was really good and InuYasha could see why the person who wanted Sesshomaru killed had chosen her. She was getting better each day and soon she would be better then him.

Hours after she finished sparring with him she would just be emerging from the showers. Staying behind to practice and then soaking in the hot springs. One day after a workout in the dojo she was startled outside the door by Kikyo.

"Will you join me on a walk, Kagome?" she asked in a calming tone.

Kagome followed her into the forest on the outskirts of the castle grounds. They walked in silence for a while, Kagome intent on the autumn wind blowing the hem of her kimono and the leaves falling from the trees. It had been a while since she had enjoyed the nature like this, almost a month had past.

"Kagome, did you know that you have miko powers?" Kagome could only gape at her. Of course she did not; Naraku would of course have told her that. "It's true. Who are your parents? You must be a descendant of a powerful miko."

"My parents are dead. My master Lord Naraku took me in and never told me who my parents were." Kagome barely realized that she had just slipped until InuYasha came out of the forest to stand next to them.

"Hmm… Naraku. I can't say I've ever heard of him." InuYasha said to Kagome. "But I'm sure Sesshomaru has. What else can you tell us about him?"

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" Kagome was appalled at herself for revealing her masters name. She had felt so protected and secure with these people. They had been almost friends, but she had learned her lesson and she would never become comfortable or reveal her feelings again with anyone. She decided to run.

InuYasha was confused on the information Kagome had given them. He had thought that someone so powerful that was trying to take over the West would at least be well known. He was so lost in his musings that he barely noticed that Kagome had run off, only the yell of Kikyo brought him out of his stupor to notice her already some distance away. However he was a hanyou and was faster then any human.

"Oh I think I will let her get a head start." He glanced over at Kikyo and smiled at her. "I want her to get far enough away that it will actually be exciting to chase her down. Oh Shit!" On the wind, blowing towards him was the unmistakable scent of his brother.

Kagome raced through the trees, her hair blowing behind her like a cape. There was no sound of pursuit behind her and so the lack of sound gave wings to her heart, and her hopes of escape soared.

Dodging around trees she started to run faster as she finally heard the sound of pursuit. InuYasha was yelling at her to stop. She kept an eye behind her until she hit something hard.

The thing, or person, she hit caught her before she hit the ground and twirled her around to face a breathless InuYasha, who looked with fear at the person who held her.

"Brother," the unmistakable emotionless voice of Sesshomaru filled her ear and made her blood freeze. Anger was laced into his tone and Kagome wanted to cringe as his arms held her tighter as she started to struggle.

"You dare to let my prisoner to escape?"

Kagome realized that he had referred to InuYasha as 'brother' when he answered.

"I apologize, but you know that she could not have outrun me and I knew exactly where she was at all times."

"I am assuming then that since you have such a lack of concern that you have completed what was assigned to you."

"Yeah, her name is Kagome. She is a powerful miko and is taking orders from her Lord, a Naraku."

"Naraku, he is supposed to be dead." His grip on her tightened, and InuYasha looked at her with concern.

"Sesshomaru, Let me take her back to the castle." InuYasha was getting worried. The hatred in Sesshomaru's eyes was scaring even him.

Sesshomaru stared at him and then roughly forced the terrified girl at him. She held onto him limply as he dragged her back to her back to the castle.

!!**!!

Sesshomaru sat against a tree in the clearing where Jaken had made camp. He was lost in his recollections of a certain hanyou he had once killed, a long time ago.

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Hey something fun, Can anyone guess how Sesshomaru and Naraku knew each other?? Whoever gives me the best idea, gets a chapter dedicated to them! Thanks!


	4. Backflash

Hey ya'll! sorry this one is short. ENJOY

Like i promised i dedicate this chapter to xokaggyfanox. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers!

Disclaimer: i dont own InuYasha.

Thanks to my beta- andraiyel

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Chapter 4

Naraku and Sesshomaru stood side-by-side watching the battle below them. They stood on a ridge and watched the lightning strike and listened to the thunder clash blocking out the sound of the battle below. Naraku was a human general, in charge of a large platoon of soldiers. They were helping Sesshomaru in his campaign against the Lord of the North, Arata.

Lord Arata had just inherited his father's lands and was waging a war against Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru thought him an arrogant bastard and wanted to show him how much power this _true_ lord really had.

They were pushing against his outer defenses and the storm that was raging on around them was adding to the West's advantages. Sesshomaru was getting anxious and could see that the battle would soon be over. He wanted to join in and fight. Smelling the General's scent he could tell he wanted to fight also.

He didn't know much about Naraku, only that he had showed up with his soldiers one morning. He wanted to help keep the Lord of the North out of the West. Naraku's lands were on the outskirts of Sesshomaru's domain.

So far they had gotten along. When the next roll of thunder hit Sesshomaru leaped from the ledge a hundred yards to the ground, being a Youkai it didn't bother him, but he knew that Naraku would have to climb down the mountain.

Joining in the fray he fought and killed everyone who crossed his path and with their Lords proficiency they managed to even drive them farther back sooner then anticipated.

Sesshomaru always kept a clear head when he was fighting. He needed to, so that no one could surprise him with any tricks. So he was glad that his thoughts were organized when he spotted a large boar Youkai coming right at him. He was puzzled on why they would send the Youkai into the battle right at the end. He knew that he could defeat it in less then a minute so why did they even bother. He smelled trickery.

The aroma and stench of human soldiers coming from behind a ridge made him turn to see fresh soldiers from the North come up behind his soldiers. So they wanted to take his attention away from his soldiers so they could be butchered. He inwardly smirked. Stupid creatures.

Jumping in the air to meet the boar he slaughtered it. What a waste of time. It wasn't even powerful enough to leave a scratch on this Sesshomaru. Pathetic. That was when the thought occurred to him. How did those soldiers know when Sesshomaru began to battle? There was a spy somewhere. His eyes alighted on Naraku. He growled.

Jumping over all his soldiers he began to slaughter the entirety of the Northern army. But before he had gotten there he saw many of his men die. One by one caught unprepared. Killing them all took little time and soon after a while their numerous troops dwindled down to a mere fraction of what it had once been and that was when he soared up to where Naraku stood watching.

Fire was growing in his eyes and he watched the fear bloom on Naraku's face as he landed lithely at his side.

"How dare you," he growled, his voice low and menacing.

Naraku pulled his sword, still intent on being a warrior even though his end near, this they both knew. Sesshomaru had to admire him for his bravery. They sparred for a few minutes. Naraku unaware that Sesshomaru was just playing with him, like a cat that had just found a mouse.

Finally Sesshomaru had enough of this and shoved his sword through his heart and left Naraku there to die.

!!**88**!!

Naraku growled deep in his throat as the horrors of the night Sesshomaru had killed him entered his mind, a wave of fresh anger towards the demon flooding over him. After he had left him to die, Sesshomaru had not taken notice to why so many demons had descended over the battleground. He had just thought that they were there to eat the carcasses of the north. This, however, was not the case.

Naraku had decided to betray Sesshomaru for a certain demon had promised him to become a full-blooded demon. Of course, he knew now that no human was able to become full demon. It was impossible. Now that the demons that night had made him into a hanyou, his only mission had been to pay Sesshomaru back for trying to kill him. He wanted to show him that a hanyou could destroy a TaiYoukai.

So he had sent young Kagome, with his faith entrusted in her, to kill the creature called a Lord. He had really believed that she could kill him. He had never seen so much power in a girl that young and a human one at that. She could have destroyed him if she had wanted to. However she had not returned. He was beginning to fear the worst.

Was she dead, captured? She was his treasure, a pure miko, even though she didn't know it yet. Should he go and try to see what happened to her? Maybe he should go and if she was dead or not, then he would finish Sesshomaru off for her.

Yes. A plan was forming in his head and he set off to begin the journey to destroy Sesshomaru for himself and rescue his miko if that was necessary.

He smirked.


	5. A Kidnapping

Im so sorry i missed a week. I apologize and wrote a longer chapter then usual. Hope you ENJOY it!! :)

Disclaimer: I dont own InuYasha :(

Thanks to my wonderful Beta Andraiyel!! And to all my wonderful, lovely reviewers!

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The dark aura of the demon swept through the forest and cleansed it of life. No birds were left singing and no animals were left to lurk about. They had all run away from this evil demon, with evil intent.

**88**

Kagome was locked in her room. She had been in there since Sesshomaru had come back and she had cowered in the corner, terrified he would come in and kill her. But it seemed he was too busy to meddle with her since he now had a large enemy out there looking to destroy him.

She was standing on the balcony when someone knocked at her door. Thinking it was a maid, she told them to enter.

InuYasha came in and leaned against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest. She turned to face him wondering what he wanted, for it was the first she had seen of him since he had brought her back here.

"Sesshomaru is still letting us do the mating ceremony, and Kikyo would appreciate your help, though you are to be guarded at all times."

She nodded yes, anything to get out of this room.

He turned and walked out of the room and she followed him almost timidly.

The long elegant hallway led to a beautiful garden that Kagome always passed on her way to the dojo to practice when she had been aloud to. The garden housed about every kind of flower found in the region. InuYasha led her to a small gazebo in the middle where Kikyo sat with a little girl and four other maids who were cooing over the choices of material in front of her.

Kikyo saw her coming and stood up to greet her. That was when Kagome noticed that InuYasha had gone and in his place was the demon that she had seen him training with. She ignored him and went to sit by Kikyo as she began to tell her all the plans for the ceremony.

The little girl came and started asking all kinds of questions to Kikyo. She was adorable, about seven or eight years old, and never stopped asking questions. When the little girl took a breath, Kagome asked Kikyo in a hushed tone who she was.

"This is Lord Sesshomaru's ward, Rin."

Kagome's surprise must have shown on her face for Kikyo chuckled softly. She hadn't known that Sesshomaru had any amount of kindness in his heart at all.

She went and knelt in front of the little girl to show her a trick on how to make a huge puffy bow, her favorite. She also had some surprises up her sleeve for being an assassin.

Kikyo looked on at the pair. Smiling to herself she thought that Kagome would make a wonderful mother, however; she had no idea what Sesshomaru planned to do to her.

Suddenly she felt the aura of Sesshomaru coming towards their little party, and she briefly had a chance to wonder what he wanted when he was there.

Kagome felt the aura of Sesshomaru long before Kikyo did, and thinking that it had something to do with her she decided to just not do anything and continue playing with Rin as he walked up.

"Rin, I will not allow you to play with such filth such as her," he said lowly, standing behind the miko ominously.

Kagome stiffened, she did not like to be compared to dirt. She didn't move or even acknowledge the demons presence.

"But Sesshomaru-sama, Rin likes Kagome-chan. She's nice and is teaching me pretty things. See?" Rin held the huge bow up for Sesshomaru's inspection. Sesshomaru ignored it and addressed Kagome's back.

"Wench, you shall not speak to Rin any more. Do you understand?"

Kagome became furious. She stood up slowly and turned to face Sesshomaru. Everyone had gone silent to watch them. Even the birds had ceased singing. Kagome's guard moved closer to her, in case she decided to do something rash.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I am not your wench to be told what to do. You have had your chance to kill me and you haven't yet. If Rin wishes to sit next to me, you should let her. You do not know what a young human girl like her needs. She has had no influences here; for the only human women here are myself and Kikyo," she said coldly.

Sesshomaru's eyes glowed red at being spoken to so disgracefully. His Youkai threatened to erupt and punish whoever had dared to not treat him with respect.

Sesshomaru's senses were clouded with anger and he fought to control himself, for Rin's sake. She did not need to see this.

Abruptly the wind went from a small trickle to a rushing void. Evil auras filled the small garden with the scent of the enemy, Naraku.

Sesshomaru immediately pulled Tenseiga from the sheath at his waist and took a battle stance. He sensed Kagome being grabbed by her guard to keep her from escaping. Though he knew it would do the guard no good. She could defeat him if she wanted.

Naraku materialized at the edge of the gazebo. He was hidden in the shadows so no one could see his face. No one made a sound or a gesture to him.

Finally Naraku spoke first.

"Lord Sesshomaru, it's a wonder you are still alive. I thought for sure that my Kagome would kill you. And yet here you stand and there she stands. Why didn't you kill her? It's not like you to be merciful, I should know." He laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers even down Sesshomaru's back.

Sesshomaru watched his eyes carefully, waiting for signs of an attack. He didn't even bother to reply. It would be worthless. Naraku was trying to distract him by talking.

That was when he saw his eyes shift to Kagome and back to him and he knew exactly what he was going to do.

When Naraku pounced so did he. Sesshomaru reached Kagome first and grabbed her throwing her into the gazebo with such force that it knocked her out, even with as much will that she had.

He saw that Naraku was surprised, and Sesshomaru became surprised when Naraku changed tactics and went after Rin. Sesshomaru couldn't control the fury when the hanyou's claws touched her screaming body and roughly dragged her through the air where they disappeared.

He wanted to go right now and get her back. How dare he, take something of value to him, but then he had taken something of value from him too. He couldn't have let Naraku take the miko for she was still of great use to him, according to his advisor Myoga.

Poison dripping from his claws spilled over the ground as he walked over to Kagome who lay in a pile of splintered wood. He would get Rin back and the miko would help him.


	6. A Trap

I would of posted this sooner but i couldnt log in. I was kinda saddened that no one reviewed the last chapter so i hope that this chapter is good to everyone. Please ENJOY! :)

Disclaimer: I dont own InuYasha.

Many thanks to all my readers who have reviewed and to my Beta, Andraiyel!

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She awoke in her room with the Great Lord Sesshomaru staring down at her. She gazed into his golden eyes as the memory of Naraku returned to her, with the last thing that came to mind was the great body of Sesshomaru slamming into her and her own body hitting the gazebo with a great splintering force. She groaned as she felt the force of hitting the gazebo on her body, and frowned at Sesshomaru as he leaned back away from her.

She noticed something different in his eyes. A possible look of longing and sadness, but that was impossible. The great Lord Sesshomaru knew nothing of feelings.

"Where's Naraku?" The thought had just come to her and she wandered if he was dead or if he had escaped. Sesshomaru hesitated before answering.

"I was hoping you could tell this Sesshomaru."

"What? You mean that you didn't kill him? He escaped?"

Sesshomaru's eyes glowed red and Kagome's heart started in frenzy. She was in no condition to fight. He got a hold of himself though to a much relieved Kagome.

"He kidnapped Rin."

The one statement made a feeling of dread creep into Kagome's abdomen and she went silent. The poor, dear, little girl, her and her questions would annoy Naraku to hell. He better not hurt her. She knew his bad streak, having been caught in it multiply times and had seen others died from it. She knew that if Rin had caught on to any of Sesshomaru's quirks, she was dead. She had already fallen in love with the child, like Rin was her own. Knowing what to do she raised her eyes to his.

"I will help you get her back." She said it with such a passion and the promise in her eyes that Sesshomaru did not doubt her.

****888****

Kagome was loaded up on Ah-Un waiting for Sesshomaru to appear. Kikyo and InuYasha stood close to the wall. They had already wished her good luck and said their good-byes. Now they were whispering back and forth, staring intently into each others eyes. Kagome felt sorry for them, their mating ceremony kept getting pushed back.

Finally Sesshomaru arrived and stood at the doorway watching his brother also. His eyes drifted to the miko and he hated that he would have to travel with such a person. She was outfitted in the same apparel that she had worn when she had come to kill him. She had also reclaimed her weapons.

He walked her way and not saying one word to her, he rose into the sky on his Youkai cloud and they started on their way.

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The journey was mostly silent. They would of had to yell to be heard by each other, at least Kagome would have, and they had nothing to say.

Naraku's palace had been a three day journey to Sesshomaru's Castle for her, when she had walked, so she estimated it would take them a day and a half at the most. She rode next to Sesshomaru, watching the ground so she knew where she was, and occasionally changing direction.

At the end of the first day they stopped and made camp. Sesshomaru leaned against the tree and watched as she worked over the fire preparing her dinner. When she started to eat, he walked into the woods to get his own, for he would eat nothing of hers.

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Kagome relaxed against the tree eating some of the food the wonderful cooks at the palace had prepared for her. The journey was half way done and for that she was grateful. She wondered what Naraku would do, what Sesshomaru might do to get Rin back and most importantly what she would do when she got back to her home.

She was calm and comfortable and when she felt a demon's presence close by she was terribly disappointed that she would have to move and defend herself. As the demon peaked between the trees at her she gazed at him as she slowly got to her feet.

Meeting her gaze defiantly he slowly slinked into the fires light, so she could get a better look at him. He was a wolf demon and his face held a large smirk that was half hidden by a mane of shaggy brown hair. He walked slowly towards her where she stood on the other side of the fire, her hand on her sword.

He attacked when the moon showed through the clouds shining down on them, jumping over the fire caused him to disappear as the fire blinded her for a moment. He landed on top of her knocking her down. She moved one hand to force him off her and the other hand to grope for her knife at her belt, since she had dropped her sword.

Getting it free finally, she struggled to stab him. He was on her struggling with both of her hands now, while trying to bite her neck. All through the struggle Kagome wondered where Sesshomaru was.

Sesshomaru was hunting. Deep in the woods he had smelled the wolf demon and heard his growls as he had attacked the miko. Thinking he should go and make sure the miko hadn't been taken by surprise, he slowly but steadily made his way back to their camp. Standing in the shadows he watched the fight. He had masked his scent to not alert the wolf and waited for the miko to get the better of the fight.

He suddenly became almost anxious when the scent of the miko's blood wafted up to his nose. How could she have aloud that mangy beast to touch her? She better straighten up and win the fight or she would be no use to him to get Rin back.

The moment the fangs had ripped a gash in her neck she had gasped in pain and was stunned that he had managed to get around her and bite her. She forced the pain to the back of her mind and wrapped her legs around the wolf's neck forcing him back. Flipping up as soon as he was off her, she went and stood in front of the wolf she knew was faking being hurt as he lay on the ground. Cautiously she was about to strike the final blow to the wolf though she was wondering why he was not defending himself when a movement to the shadows captured her attention as two more wolves erupted from the shadows.

This was the time for Sesshomaru join the fray. He came forward from the forest with sword in hand as he engaged the wolves in a fight. It was the two wolves against him and the one wolf against Kagome. When her attention had been divided between the new two wolves and the one that she had been fighting she hadn't noticed the claws coming up to swipe her thigh.

It burned like fire and it spread throughout her leg. She grimaced and growled as she realized that it was time to stop playing. Striking upward from where she laid she cut the wolf's head off, the blood pouring over her in a tidal wave. It was warm and started to get sticky as she forced herself up to help Sesshomaru.

Limping forward towards them, one of the wolves noticed her and started to engage her. Again she forced the pain into the back of her head and fought the next wolf. He had already been wounded by Sesshomaru so she in her state was able to overcome him. This one she was able to throw her smaller knife at him aiming it perfectly so it hit him in the eye, going into his brain. She finished him off while Sesshomaru cleaned his sword on his dead wolf's garb.

Sesshomaru cleaned his sword on the smelly wolf's clothes and watched the miko out of the corner of his eye. She had lost some blood but wasn't in any dire need of attention at this moment. Why it had taken her so long to kill the wolf and allow it to wound her puzzled him.

Walking up to her he gripped her by the arm as she stumbled and supported her, barely touching her. She slumped against the tree as he dressed her wounds wrinkling his nose at the smell of her blood. He distasted human blood.

She was half conscious and he knew he had only a few moments until she lost all sense of time, so he grabbed her chin forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Miko, why did you let it touch you?"

She looked puzzled up into his eyes and answered, "He took me by surprised and I was thinking of where you were and when you would come help me."

She had placed the blame on him unrighteous, he thought as she closed her eyes in a deep sleep, so where did that deep feeling of guilt come from?


	7. An Exchange of Bonds

Im so sorry i had missed a week. Its just been so hectic with school and everything, but enough with excuses- ENJOY!!!!!

Disclaimer: I dont own InuYasha!

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Kagome sat against the tree contemplating her life. Why was she traveling with a demon lord with an evil temper to rescue a little girl she had no business in rescuing? And why was said demon standing across from her staring at her like she was going to start having a fit?

Really, Sesshomaru was standing there across the camp, staring at her with a perplexed look on his face, or not, his facial expression never changed but a new look had come into his eyes as he gazed down at the small petite miko on the ground.

She had just recently wakened up and Sesshomaru was waiting for her to be ready for them to continue on their journey. He really had no idea what to think of her. First one moment she was trying to kill him and then the next she was wondering where he was and why he didn't come sooner to save _her_ life. Really she was an enigma.

Kagome finally having decided that covering some land would do about as much good as sitting on the ground having a stoic demon lord stare her down, literally, she got up and they continued on their way. This time they walked instead of riding.

They had been walking for a few hours and she was starting to get ready to quit for a quick lunch when the castle suddenly loomed ominously above them. She had forgotten how it could suddenly appear out of the fog up on the mountains.

She stopped and felt Sesshomaru stop behind her. Unexpectedly she felt his arm engulf her waist as he lifted them up into the air and towards the castle, Ah-Un staying hidden in the trees.

"Where do we go miko?" he growled softly in her ear, and she pointed the way to the window that had been in the room she had occupied. They flew up there and Sesshomaru let her lead through the room.

The room was dark and was exactly the same as when she had been there last. Shaking her head at the nostalgia that flooded her senses, they continued on their way.

They crept quietly down the hallway towards where Sesshomaru could smell Rin. The only servant they met was quickly silenced to never breathe a word again. After that they had to hurry for they knew that Naraku would smell the blood soon and find out they were here.

Creeping towards the door where Rin scent was excreting from, they together opened the door and stopped dead in their tracks, Kagome's mouth opened in horror and silence descended upon all living things. Standing in the corner stood Rin, who looked as healthy as ever, however it was the corpse who held her that had brought a feeling of dread upon Kagome. She only knew one person or sorcerer who could control the dead like a marionette puppet. She was Kagura the wind sorcerer.

Sure enough Kagome heard her chilling laugh come drifting into the room on a cold wind. Kagura was a bitch, Kagome knew as a fact that she and Naraku had a thing. They had rutted together many times and Kagome had despised her greatly for all the attention Naraku had granted her.

She knew that she would be in the room soon so she ran forward and grabbing her knife out of her obi she thrust and hacked at the dead body that was on Rin. Rin was silent throughout the entire encounter and silently stood off to the side as Kagome impaired the dead thing.

Meanwhile Sesshomaru awaited Kagura. He had heard her and had seen Kagome's face and was ready for her when she came in the window on her feather. Immediately she began to mock him and Sesshomaru as arrogant as ever decided to teach the witch some manners for he knew that she was in cohorts with Naraku for she reeked of that hanyou.

Poison leaking from his claws; he stood silently with no expression except one of disgust for her. He had known it had been a trap the entire time and that was one of the reason he had brought the miko so she could make sure Rin got out safely. She didn't need any help though he knew that her leg still pained her.

He put his attention back on Kagura as she raised her fan and directed a stream of flashing darts that he dispelled with a flick of his wrist. Was this sorcerer going to be too easy to kill?

She attacked again and again and each time Sesshomaru dogged them easily. He was getting bored and just decided to end it all. He advanced upon her slowly, growling and baring his fangs at her, poison dripping all over the floor. She backed up freaked at his turn of nature and he had her just where he wanted her. In front of the window, she stood awkwardly having lost her courage at how easy he had been able to not be hit by her attacks. He advanced upon her and reached out to touch her and he could here her breathing hitch at what he was doing and then he pushed her out the window.

He turned away not looking to see if she survived the fall or not for Naraku had walked into the room. Sesshomaru stared at him as he grabbed Rin by the hair. He was close to Kagome and grabbed her, though not by her hair. She was silent knowing what was about to take place by an exchange of bonds.

The exchange of bonds was where the two feuding masters would exchange two prisoners of war back to their masters. Naraku wanted Kagome and he knew that Sesshomaru would kill to have Rin back so it was perfect.

The two demons stared at each other and simultaneously pushed the girls forward into the center of the room. Kagome grabbed Rin and hugged her and the brave little girl whispered into her ear "Thank you Kagome. I hope Sesshomaru-sama will be able to save you sometime." Then they were back with their original masters.

Kagome stood next to Naraku and watched Rin drip a few tears before Sesshomaru was able to scoop her up and fly out the window. She kept the image of them in her mind as Naraku began his punishment on her. The punishment for not killing Sesshomaru when she had the chance, and only then did she realize that she had not in fact killed him traveling with him for two days.

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Please Review it motivates me alot:)


	8. A New Journey

I am so sorry it has been forever since i updated. i hope you are all still with me and will continue to read this story even though i didnt update like i said i would. There is no excuse. So i hope you all enjoy this chapter! thanks!! ENJOY!!! :)

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Kagome was in pain; deep, miserable, throbbing pain. Sesshomaru never had hurt her this bad without his physician seeing to her. But this was the punishment Naraku had enforced on her. She was lucky he had not just killed her and gotten it over with. She knew she could kill him if she was up to her full strength. He was scared of her.

Kagura hadn't died. When she had been pushed out the window she had managed to fall into the river and had emerged later that evening to a bemused Naraku who had gone to his chambers with her.

She hoped that Sesshomaru and Rin had escaped with no harm, for Naraku had revealed to her that it had been he who had sent those wolf demons after her. They were only supposed to wound her enough to bring her back here. The wolves had been from a remote tribe in the mountains and had fought with Naraku believing the lies he had laced into their heads about Sesshomaru.

Kagome needed to get out of here. She couldn't stand it in here anymore. Naraku would brainwash her and send her to try again or worse confine her to her room. She wouldn't be able to stand that. In her room she would go crazy. Without being able to practice her skills she would deteriorate and become weak and helpless. She had no desire to stay in there worthless.

She grimaced as a fresh wave of pain swept over her body. Every time she had watched Naraku torture some traitor or spy she had felt contempt as they had screamed in agony and begged for mercy. Now she was getting the same treatment they were given and she knew she would never be able to forgive herself.

Gosh how much she had changed with the month she had spent with Sesshomaru. Though he was as cruel and heartless as Naraku she had made friends with Kikyo and InuYasha and Rin. She wished she had gotten to know Rin a bit more. She felt so guilty for everything she had had to go through.

She had to get out of here! This was the first time she had been able to think with a clear head. Before she had only wanted the pain to stop, to just kill her and get it over with. She knew there was not one spot on her that was not covered in bruises or sores or blood. It bothered her that her blood was running out of her body with her having no way to stop it. She was scared to die and wanted to kill Naraku for all the pain he was inflicting on her. Though he was the only father she had ever known.

Kagome had loved him. Now she realized that the only reason she had loved him was because he had erased her memories of her family and replaced them with his own. She cringe just thinking about it. What kind of beast would do that?

She rattled the chains that hung from the wall. She couldn't break the chains in her state. So how would she get free?

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Sesshomaru paced in his office wondering what kind of fate was bestowed on the miko. He knew that soon he would be seeing Naraku again, he wouldn't give up that easily. He was planning strategies right now with his best general and his army was forming from all over the western lands. Tomorrow he would travel to the other Lords and ask them to help obliterate Naraku and his army.

He didn't think Naraku was strong enough to build an army but as Rin and he were leaving they glimpse them. It was comprised of humans, hanyous, demons, sorcerers and witches. That was all he was able to see. Naraku probably had trolls and giants and then the wolves that had attacked him and the miko.

Whenever he strikes, Sesshomaru was going to be ready.

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Kagome was still in the dungeon. Shaking the chains she was starting to get very disappointed that she hadn't figured out how to get free yet. In a little while she heard someone coming down the stairs and she tried to look still in pain, which wasn't hard.

A guard appeared around the corner with keys in his hands. He probably thought that she would be too weak to fight him, but she was going to take the chance. As soon as he had unlocked one arm she reached out and grabbed the keys from the guard. Kicking him in the chest he fell against the wall. She quickly unlocked her other arm, locked the guard up and threw the keys in the corner.

Kagome ran up the stairs. She would need supplies for where she was going. She knew of a little village by a forbidden forest that no one ventured in. She had made friends there when she was on a small mission before she had been sent to kill Sesshomaru. It had been at least a four day journey and with her in her state, she wanted to get some food so she wouldn't have to hunt.

She was friends with the head cook in the kitchens. The cook had kind of taken her under her wing when she had first come here and Naraku had never said anything against it. Racing to the kitchens and dodging the guards she finally got their safe.

"Aina!" Kagome rushed into the arms of the cook. The smells of her childhood came back to her like flour and yeast. The smells of the kitchen had always been comforting to her when she was younger and now it reassured her that not all was lost.

"I have to leave Aina. Can you give me some food?"

"I will do anything for you child. Here."

She handed her a pack of food and a blanket and then she put a dark cloak around her to help conceal her. Whispering her goodbyes, she wished she could just stay in those arms but someone would have found the guard by now.

Still covered in blood she started on her journey.

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Please Review.....


	9. Dangerous Tidings

This has got to be my best and most favorite chapter yet for this story. I am so excited!!!! I hope you all love it as much as i do! ENJOY!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha plot or characters, But i do own my plot and ideas.

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A shrill scream shattered the air around Kagome. She had been meditating under the shade of a tree. Her wounds were a lot better now except for one nasty gash in her side. She had been hurrying as fast as she could to the village to get it treated.

It was six inches long and went across the bottom of her ribs. The area around it was black and purple and the gash itself was red and bloody, no matter how often she stopped to clean it. However she knew that once it started smelling and oozing pus then that was a sure sign that infection had set in.

So she had been relaxed thinking of the time when she wasn't being hunted when the scream came. She jumped up startled and drew the knife that she had bartered all her food for. She had figured, after clearing her head, she would need protection first, and be able to find food later. Looking behind the tree she saw a girl her own age with blood pouring down her face and clutching her arm to her chest. She was running from a large bear yokai.

Not wasting any time and throwing away any caution to her own wounds she started racing towards the girl. Her kimono flapped against her legs as she flew with the wind. Increasing her speed and strengthening her stride she ran past the girl who barely gave her a glance. Four yards from the bear demon she raised her knife and leaped into the air to the left of the demon who snarled. Time slowed down for her as she evaluated her target, the bear's neck. She thrust the knife into its beefy neck.

The large bear yokai growled and snarled at the sudden appendage appearing at its neck, and abruptly collapsed. Kagome smirked, she cherished the moments doing what she had been trained to do.

Her wound though started pulsing with pain again. Ignoring it she walked back to the tree looking for the girl whose life she had just saved. Kagome frowned when she didn't see anyone in sight.

_She must have been extremely frightened or in a very big hurry to not bother staying around to thank me. O well._

She was a few miles away from the village still and wished to get there before it got dark. Grimacing in pain she started on her way again.

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Sesshomaru had been pacing in his office for the entire night now. It was strange, he happened to get Rin back safely in his protection again but he had lost Kagome, and he was feeling _guilty _about it. But there had been no way he could have saved both of them with absolutely no damage to either one of them.

Right now he just needed to forget about her and stop Rin from mopping around. He had to come up with some strategies to defeat Naraku, and he couldn't have her well-being keep dividing his thoughts.

He growled to himself as a knock was heard at the hard wooden door. Telling them to enter, he quickly ran a hand over his face and returning his features to stone he turned to face his ward and Jaken.

"Speak" He didn't have time for their complaints.

Jaken gulped and began to address his lord.

"My Lord Sesshomaru, your general just reported seeing a group of twelve men in the forest. They believed that they were Naraku's and promptly…" glancing at Rin, changed his verb… "eradicated them. They managed to take one prisoner and interrogated him. The general found out that the party was in fact Naraku's and that they had been sent out to search for Kagome."

"Their orders?"

Jaken gulped again. "To kill her, milord."

Rin ran up to her lord and bowed in front of him.

"Please, Lord Sesshomaru, can we please save Kagome-chan now, please?"  
"Yes Rin, we will very soon."

It looked to him that it definitely would be another sleepless night for him.

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Naraku was pissed off. Kagome had disappeared right off the face of the earth. No one had seen her leave the castle and no one had seen her in or even passing any of the villages. He had even tried rewards and bribery to get someone to talk. But no one had seen her. The word magic kept flashing in his mind. But he knew that was not the case. She was a trained assassin, one that knew how to disappear off the face of the earth. Never be seen again if she wanted to.

His guards had interrupted him in his chambers with Kagura to tell him. There had been one less guard left in his castle after that. He had immediately called all his soldiers onto the hunt, with the orders to find her and to kill her.

If Sesshomaru got to her she would be a valuable, strong ally for him, one that he would be afraid to face in battle.

He racked his mind of places where she might have gone. She had no friends outside the castle or nearest village that he knew of or family that was alive that he also knew off.

He had found her in a small village to the north. Her eyes were blue. The first human he had ever seen with blue eyes. She was considered a freak of nature and after he started asking around about her he learned that no one knew who her parents were. The couple raising her had found her on their doorstep one morning. They felt sorry for the baby that everyone cast the evil eye on, but had gladly given her to Naraku after only a few words and some money changing hands. They had their own family to worry about.

So Naraku had taken her in and trained her from the beginning. She turned out to a beautiful woman and a "killer" to the guys. Sometimes he wondered about her heritage but after a few years he gave up on trying to figure it out. They were probably dead anyway. However with her gone it all rushed back to him, and he started to wander again. Could she have figured out what village she had come from? He had sent her back to the village for her first test but he hadn't thought anyone had recognized her.

_Hmmm, better check anyway. _

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_Sooo???? Please Review!_


	10. A New Hope

She finally gets to meet the rest of the gang now!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Dont own InuYasha.....

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Chapter 10

The sun was setting and the crickets could be heard rustling through the grass. The village was at peace. Men were coming back in from the fields, their sons following them. Exotic smells wafted through the narrow streets between the rush huts, the mothers and their daughters working hard fixing dinner. Many yards from the rest of the village was the village shrine. In a small hut near it lived the old miko Kaede. She was stooped over a pot in the fire pit and as she turned around she showed the patch covering her eye.

Kagome had just finished her life's tale to the attentive miko. She sat on her hutches watching the exhausted girl eat the food she had made for her. This morning she had stumbled into the village and they had brought her here. Kaede remember the poor blue eyed child that had appeared at a random couple's door. They had taken her in and then a strange hanyou had taken her away with him. She had just evaporated from their lives.

She then had appeared just suddenly a few months ago to help the village purge a demon from their midst. It had lived in the woods and she had gone out at day break and had come back before the sun had set. She was only scratched and they hadn't had any trouble from that demon since then.

"My dear child, I wish I could tell you where you had come from, but I'm afraid I do not know. You are however welcome to stay with me, for I am getting old in my age and need some young arms around here."

"Thank you Kaede. I appreciate it a lot. There is something else I wish to ask of you though." She couldn't bear to meet the old miko's eyes and see her wish turned down. "I want to train to become a miko with you. InuYasha told me that I was a powerful miko. I wasn't sure it was true for I didn't know who my parents were but Naraku confirmed it."

"My dear did you just say InuYasha?"

Kagome gave her a questioning look.

"My sister is to be mated to him. Did you meet Kikyo also?"

She was about to answer when the girl Kagome had saved from the bear Youkai yesterday burst through the door into the small hut.

"Priestess Kaede! Soldiers are approaching the village. They are Naraku's."

Kaede nodded as if she wasn't surprised. "Thank you Sango-chan. Take Kagome to the well."

"If they find you Kagome and even if you kill them all, Naraku will know exactly where you are." She answered Kagome's questioning and outraged look before she could voice it.

Kagome nodded and followed the girl out the door. They hurried down a weathered path as the sounds of the soldiers could be heard behind them entering the village. The soon came to a well.

"You go first. I will follow. Hurry!"

Kagome walked to the well and put her leg over it. She descended into the inky blackness of the well. Finding foot holes in the side and holding on to vines she finally came to the bottom of the well. Sango came soon after her. She lit a candle and Kagome could see that there was a passage that led from the well. Sango beckoned to her to follow.

They soon came to a large cavern like room that was cave like. Provisions were stacked in one corner and pallets in another. A man laid on one with a fire cat demon and a kitsune curled under his arm.

Sango walked over to him and kicked him waking him up. He sat up quickly with a yell.

"Miroku, we have company."

"Yes Sango, I can see that. Apparently you ran into trouble getting food then. For you brought no food back, but a beautiful woman."

"This is Miroku, Kagome. I advise you to ignore his prattles. They are meaningless. Don't pay him any mind. The kitsune is Shippo, an orphan." She nodded fondly towards the still snoozing kit. "That is Kirara."

Kagome nodded towards each of them. "Why are you hiding here?" She asked.

"For the same reason you are my dear. Sango comes from a long line of demon slayers and the demons decided to attack them in full force one day. Luckily Sango was not in the village at the time, but her family and friends were all killed.

I am a traveling monk with a cursed hole in my hand from a certain Naraku. The curse has been passed down to each child and will only leave my body when I have killed Naraku with it. We are all on the same team, with the same goal in mind, to kill Naraku."

"But why do you hide down here?"

"The villagers are not keen on us being here. We seem to attract unwelcomed attention." He laughed.

Kagome had moved to sit on one of the pallets to listen to Miroku and Sango kneeled to her left.

"I didn't thank you for killing the Youkai for me the other day. I was just walking when it attacked me. If I had my weapons with me I would have killed it, but I was foolish and had left them here. They are a pain to pull up out of the well all the time."

Kagome sat their taking in all the information. She felt a large hope swelling inside of her. Here there were people who had the same purpose as her. She had never known that other people besides Sesshomaru would hate Naraku as much as she did. But looking at what he had done to her new friends families and their lives were to never be normal or the same again until he was dead. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure that happened soon. Power she did have and power she was going to get very soon. She smirked imagining the look on his face. If only he could see her now planning his death, she wont be the one chained to a wall anymore.

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Please please please review and make my day!!!!!!!!!


	11. The Dream

The sun was setting and Kagome had just put her leg on the other side of the well to get out of it. It was a beautiful cool night and it had been a week since she had come to live in the well with her new family.

They came out at night to practice their fighting and Kagome was currently teaching them some new skills to use in the upcoming battle. Kaede was busy teaching Kagome how to meditate and use her miko energy, and it seemed to come naturally to her. She could now channel the pure miko power into a perfect sphere in her hand, which she threw at targets.

She was worn out all the time, what with practicing her swordsmanship and her miko powers. Then Kaede gave them good news.

"I sent for my sister, Kikyo, and her mate InuYasha. They should be arriving soon to help you all. This war will be upon us soon."

They were all excited to have more people come help them and Kagome was overjoyed to be able to see her friends again. Things were finally turning for the better, until they were attacked.

They were engrossed in their fighting and didn't notice the demon sneaking up on them until it was too late.

Something hit Kagome and she went flying into the tree. On her hands and knees she fought to keep consciousness. She watched, unable to tear her eyes away, as her friends battled the huge lizard demon. It had poison that spread out at them all when it flicked its tongue. Kirara transformed into her magnificent larger state and Sango jumped on here with her Hiraikotsu. They wanted to gain leverage and so rose above it as Shippo distracted it with his fox fire.

Sango was a brilliant fighter and leapt from Kirara's back and raised her Hiraikotsu and cut its head off with one clean stroke. The demon laid there with all its guts spilling out onto the forest floor. Miroku cleaned it all up.

Kagome knowing that they were all safe finally fell into unconsciousness.

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Naraku had just gotten report back from his general who had just returned from the village at the edge of the forbidden forest. He had reported that Kagome had in fact not been there.

This knowledge made him very angry for he could think of no where else she would have gone, unless she had gone back to Sesshomaru. It was war.

888***888

Everyone was in Kaede's hut watching over Kagome. InuYasha and Kikyo had arrived that morning and to everyone's disappointment had told them that they hadn't been mated yet. Not until the war was over would Sesshomaru let them be mated. They had brought along others also. Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Rin were there also.

Rin had bugged Sesshomaru about when they were going to save their Kagome and when InuYasha had come to him and told him where she was and that they were going to help, he had accompanied them.

She was still unconscious and it had been two days since they had been attacked by the demon. Kaede told them not to worry and that she was only resting from all the physical turmoil that she had been going through the past couple of days.

It was time to eat and everyone had gone outside to enjoy the meal Kaede had worked on all day. Sesshomaru went inside to watch over Kagome and to meditate on what he should do next.

Staring at her peaceful state he became startled when her eyelids began to flutter. She opened her eyes and Sesshomaru watched as her pupils dilated to focus on him. They shared a brief moment until Kagome spoke.

"Sesshomaru, I know who my parents are."

**88** _Kagome's Dream_

A brilliant bright light flew towards here and her first thought was that it was the biggest most pure sphere of miko energy she could ever fathom. Then when it came closer to her it exploded and its energy swept over Kagome like the north wind. She opened her eyes to see the most beautiful lady she had ever laid eyes on.

The lady came to stand in front of her and took her hands.

_My daughter Kagome._ The words seemed to whisper across her mind. The voice was clear and twinkled like a bell yet held a demanding tone.

_I am your mother Kagome. Wait don't speak. I must explain everything to you about your heritage and we don't have much time. _

_Your father and I loved you very much when you were born and were overjoyed to finally have a child to carry on our powers. However, four days after you were born our castle was overrun by evil men._

_We lived in the far mountains and ruled over a large city of the people who lived there. We protected them and cared for their every need. There were over five thousand men who were strong enough to fight in the army. _

_Well they couldn't defend their families and now they are under the rule of some new king who makes them do evil things. _

_We had thought that we were strong enough we wouldn't need to the protection of the stronger kingdoms of the North or West, but I guess we were wrong. _

_They killed you father and I, but before I had sent you with a trusted servant to the village nearest to us. It still would have taken nine days to get there on horse back, and she had to walk. _

_You come from an ancient family, Kagome. Your great-grandfather was one of the founding fathers of Japan but chose to live quietly with his family. He was rewarded however. All the girl children born would possess the powers of the strongest miko energies that would ever be seen in the world; fore it would grow in power each generation. _

_So Kagome you are the strongest miko that the world has ever seen. I was not apparently strong enough to protect my people, but you are strong enough to save our people and destroy the new evil that is plaguing you. _

_Be strong my daughter and remember that when you have my looks no man will be able to resist you, so pick one that cares for the beauty inside. _She kissed Kagome on the forehead and it left a mark so pure and true. _I love you. _She started to fade in front of her, but before she left she whispered one last thing. The words would be burned in Kagome's mind for the rest of her life.

_Inside of you is the key. Use it well. _

_You have your father's eyes. _

Kagome reached for her but she was already gone and could feel herself pulled back into her body again.

8888**8888

Kagome's eyes met Sesshomaru's almost immediately when she awoke. Her blue eyes burned and met the intensity of his.

"Sesshomaru, I know who my parents are."

She didn't in fact know their names but she knew where she came from. That meant so much to her.

Then the pain came.

Shearing pain burst inside her stomach. She gasped and her back arched as she was raised into the air. Her head flew back.

Sesshomaru stood there, he had no idea what was going on or what to do. Kaede and the rest ran inside for they could feel the intensity of the miko powers flowing through the room.

The energy became too strong for the demons and so Shippo, Kirara, InuYasha and Sesshomaru left and ran into the woods to get away from the purity.

Kaede commanded everyone to not touch her and they watched as she started to convulse. Gasping she was laid softly on the futon again and looked as if nothing had happened. Then she sat straight up and put a hand to her side.

A sucking sound was heard and then Kagome held up a jewel in her hand. She gazed at it in wonder. Feeling four presences in the jewel, she held in her hand the souls of her mother, her grandmother, great-grandmother, and one she didn't know. It was an enigma she would have to solve herself.


End file.
